Ravenswood 101 shopping center

Drive north on Highway 101 past the University Avenue exit and you see the orange Home Depot sign and the blue and yellow IKEA box on the bay side of the freeway. That strip of East Bayshore Road is Ravenswood 101, East Palo Alto's main shopping district. It is not pretty and it was never meant to be. It is a practical place where people buy groceries, lumber, paint and furniture.

For East Palo Alto it is also more than that. The center is one of the city's biggest sources of sales tax, one of its biggest employers and, since Target closed in 2024, a reminder of how few places residents have to buy everyday goods close to home. This page covers what is there as of October 2026, the history of the site and how to get there from Palo Alto. For the wider city, see our East Palo Alto guide.

Where it is

Ravenswood 101 runs along East Bayshore Road, the frontage road on the bay side of Highway 101, between the University Avenue interchange and the Palo Alto line. The center's own listings use the address 1751 East Bayshore Road, near the corner of Donohoe Street. Across the frontage road sits IKEA East Palo Alto at 1700 East Bayshore Road. On the other side of the freeway, about a quarter mile away, is University Circle with the Four Seasons hotel and its office towers.

A 2024 Palo Alto Daily Post report put the whole shopping center at about 430,000 square feet. It is laid out like most suburban power centers, with big stores along the back and smaller pad buildings near the road.

The stores today

We confirmed these businesses on their own store pages or store locators in October 2026:

The Home Depot

The Home Depot is the anchor most Palo Alto residents know. It is the closest big home improvement store to downtown Palo Alto and Stanford. Its store page lists early opening hours aimed at contractors, curbside pickup through the app, a garden center and rental trucks.

Cardenas Markets

Cardenas is the center's grocery store and, since Target closed, the main full-service grocery in the city according to local reporting. It occupies the old Circuit City building. Mi Pueblo Food Center opened there in November 2009 as East Palo Alto's first full-service supermarket in 23 years. Mi Pueblo later merged with Cardenas and the store took the Cardenas name. It has a carnicería, a bakery, a tortilleria and a hot food counter. A San Mateo County health inspection closed the store for several days in March 2026, so check that it is open if you are making a special trip.

Nordstrom Rack

Nordstrom Rack moved into the former EXPO Design Center building in 2009 and was still there when Target closed in 2024. Its website blocks automated checks, so we could not reconfirm it for this update. Look it up on the company's store locator before you go.

What happened to Target

The Target at 1775 East Bayshore Road closed on September 28, 2024. The company told reporters the store had seen prolonged underperformance. The CVS pharmacy inside it closed earlier, on August 22, 2024. Prescriptions moved to the CVS at 352 University Avenue in Palo Alto. The Starbucks inside Target went with it.

The closure hit hard. The Almanac reported that it left Cardenas as the city's main grocery store. The Palo Alto Daily Post noted that a single independent pharmacy on University Avenue would become the city's only general pharmacy. City leaders said they were talking with the landlord about a replacement that would serve residents. We could not confirm a new tenant for the space as of October 2026.

How the center came to be

The land along East Bayshore Road has changed hands and uses many times. The shoreline was once marsh and farmland. Highway 101 was widened through East Palo Alto in the 1950s, splitting the community and displacing dozens of businesses. The bay side of the freeway later filled with light industry.

The retail district grew after East Palo Alto incorporated in 1983 and went looking for a tax base. Gateway 101 was built in 1995 on the site of Ravenswood High School, which had closed in 1976 after low enrollment. Ravenswood 101 followed. Supporters pointed to new jobs and sales tax. Opponents argued that the projects favored low-wage retail jobs and arrived alongside development that pushed housing costs up for longtime residents. Both views still come up in local debates.

Tenants have turned over steadily since then:

• EXPO Design Center, a Home Depot spinoff, left a 92,000 square foot building empty for more than three years. Regency Centers bought it in 2008 and leased it to Nordstrom Rack and Sports Authority.
• Circuit City closed and its building became Mi Pueblo in 2009, later Cardenas.
• Best Buy closed its East Palo Alto store in 2012.
• Sports Authority disappeared along with the national chain.
• Target closed in September 2024.

In May 2021 Regency sold the two buildings that held Target and Nordstrom Rack, which it marketed as Gateway 101, for about $53 million. That is why you will see both names used for the same strip.

Getting there from Palo Alto

By car

From downtown Palo Alto, take University Avenue northeast across San Francisquito Creek and over Highway 101. Just past the freeway, turn right on Donohoe Street and follow it onto East Bayshore Road. The center is on your left and IKEA on your right. From Highway 101, take the University Avenue exit and follow the same streets. The trip takes about 10 minutes outside rush hour.

University Avenue is one of the worst bottlenecks on the Peninsula at commute time, because it feeds the Dumbarton Bridge. Avoid weekday afternoons if you can. Saturday mornings are busy in the parking lot but easier on the roads.

By bus

SamTrans serves East Palo Alto. IKEA's website lists routes 280 and 296 stopping across the street from the store. Check the SamTrans trip planner for current schedules. Our getting around guide explains how VTA and SamTrans split the area at the county line.

By bike

Riding is possible but not relaxing. The University Avenue interchange is busy with fast traffic headed for the bridge. Confident riders can use it at quieter times. Everyone else should combine the Bay Trail with quieter East Palo Alto streets. Our biking guide has route ideas. A cargo bike or a delivery is better for anything bigger than a bag.

If you are visiting and need a car for a big shopping run, you can compare rental cars in the area.

Nearby and how it compares

Ravenswood 101 is a practical stop, not a place to spend an afternoon. If you want boutiques, cafes and a walk, head to Stanford Shopping Center or downtown Palo Alto instead. Our shopping hub compares the options.

If you are hungry while you are there, Cardenas has a hot food counter and IKEA has its restaurant. Better meals are a few minutes away on University Avenue. Our guide to where to eat in East Palo Alto lists taquerias and other spots. For groceries on the Palo Alto side, see our groceries and specialty food guide.

Frequently asked questions